G'day! Pull up a chair! Join me at the kitchen table for a chat...let's toss a few thoughts around about the state of this crazy but wonderful world we inhabit. There's lots to discuss! Make yourself comfortable! Would you like a glass of wine?

Sunday, March 06, 2016

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR....

Two Acrylic paintings done by me, which are self-explanatory.; characters recognisable..I hope! (Both of which I have posted previously somewhere along the line).

While recalling certain memories as I was in my previous
post I’d better remain on subject in case I forget what it is I intend to
write.

Reading a post on River’s blog last week I was reminded of a
couple of things.

During December, 2015 on SBS-1 TV a four-part documentary on
the life of Walt Disney was shown. It was a fascinating insight into the man. My attention was grabbed and held from go to whoa....

No doubt the timing of the documentary was because 5th
December was the unforgettable Walt Disney’s birth date.On 5th December, 2015 Walter Elias
Disney would’ve celebrated his 114th birthday.Walt, as he preferred to be called by
everyone he met, passed away 15th December, 1966. What a wonderful, magical, marvellous,
on-going legacy Walt left us.

The documentary told the story of a clever, determined,
inspiring, loving family man.

Walt, in reality, was not unlike the boy he immortalised on
screen in his 1953 animated film “Peter Pan”.“Peter Pan” or “The Boy Who
Wouldn’t Grow Up” – the play, written by J.M. Barrie, was one of Walt’s
favourite stories. Disney had wanted to turn “Peter Pan” into an animated film
way back in 1935; for it to be his second film after “Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs”.

His plan was thwarted. Other factors came into play, along
with other projects he had on his plate, and then, the bombing of Pearl Harbour
on 7th December, 1941 intervened.The United States
joined the Second World War after the attack by the Japanese.Many undertakings and dreams were put on the
back-burner until after the war was over, and, also, until the studio’s
financial situation began to improve.

Walt Disney’s four-part documentary is filled with
priceless, archival footage. From beginning to end and all in between I was
enthralled; as captivated as if watching any of Disney’s animated features.It is a brilliant documentary. It’s one I
would recommend to everyone.

Walt had dreams...millions
of dreams.To the best of his abilities
and time spent on earth he fulfilled many of those dreams, more than one normal
person could ever hope to do; but then, Walt wasn’t a “normal” person. Walt was
determined to not let anything deter him from his path; his dreams. He
succeeded so often, with the help of his older brother, Roy, who stuck with him
through thick and thin; through the good times and the bad.Roy Disney was the “financial” man of the
two.Roy passed away 20th December,
1971, almost five years to the day of his younger sibling.

Walt allowed himself to be free – to be who he truly was –
the boy, the dreamer within. He allowed his dreams to come true. He gave every
one of us, young and old much to enjoy.He gave willingly and happily.We
should, one and all remember the lessons he taught us - of how to open our
eyes, our minds and our hearts and to believe - to not be afraid to do so. In
honour of Walt Disney’s brilliance and in gratitude for the gifts he bestowed,
the least one can do is try...

Throughout his life Walt had a youthful love of steam trains. An avid
railroad enthusiast, he built a miniature railroad in his own backyard; and
then later, he built the Disneyland Railroads, which feature in Disney
entertainment parks throughout the world.

I was four years old the first time I watched the picture
(as we called “movies” or “films” when I was a little girl), “Bambi”.

Like millions of other I fell in love with Bambi and his
friends, Thumper, Flower and Faline.And
like millions of others, I shed a torrent of tears when Bambi’s wise, loving
mother was killed by a heartless hunter.If I watched the movie again at the age I am now, I would still shed
tears; and not be ashamed or embarrassed by doing so.

One Saturday morning about four or five years ago, by
accident, when flicking through TV channels I stumbled across “The Fox and the
Hound”.The movie had just begun and I
immediately got sucked in.Dropping
everything else, I watched the wonderful movie through to the very end, a smile
permanently on my face.I’d not seen the
film before that particular morning.I’m
glad I took the time to watch it. It wasn’t wasted time, in my opinion.Housework or whatever else needed doing that
morning wasn’t as important, to me, as experiencing the feeling of
light-hearted warmth and love.Life
should always be that way.

In 1965 shortly before I left Gympie to live and work in Brisbane I was asked to
help choreograph and produce a segment for a combined stage production to be
put on by the local Musical Union and Drama Group.At the time I was a member of the Drama Group
(I’ve mentioned this minor fact previously); but why I was asked to choreograph
a musical segment had me baffled at the time...it
still does.However, being one who
doesn’t like to back off from a challenge...in
most instances...I grabbed hold of
the offer and ran with it.

The first of the two acts I planned and worked on was based around
“When You Wish Upon a Star”.

My idea was to have a half moon hanging centre stage
surrounded by flickering, silver stars.Swinging on the half moon the “star” of the show (not me, I was the
director and producer, not the singer or dancer) would sing and dance to
“Jiminy Cricket’s” Academy Award winning song from Walt Disney’s wonderful 1940
animated production of “Pinocchio”.I planned for a spotlight to be focussed upon
the sole performer. The stars and the moon would subtly glow against a dark blue
almost black backdrop.

The other musical segment was to be based around a gypsy
campfire...a fiery song and dance
around a fire.I had everything planned
out down to the finest details, and rehearsals for both performances were well underway.
For the life of me at this present moment in time I can’t remember the song I’d
chosen for the second act!

But life outside the fantasy world had to carry on. My debut
into musical stage productions was rudely interrupted. I was unable to escape
its clutches. I never completed my stint
as choreographer, producer and director because just as I’d started swinging
from a star, I left Gympie behind to live in the big city of Brisbane!The city lights were impossible for me to ignore.

Hey there Gail...I'm a big sook! There's always something that makes me cry, no matter how many times I've watched it. "Roman Holiday" never fails to make me cry at the end of it...same with "Breakfast at Tiffanys" and thousands of other stories/movies/articles etc; you name it and I'll have cry!

You left before the performance?? You didn't see it through? :(I'm sure your reasons were good, but I bet the performers were sorry to see you go. I hope whoever replaced you did as good a job.I haven't seen many Disney movies, never seen Bambi, but I have seen Peter Pan. mostly I've seen Disney cartoons, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck etc. my kids loved them too.When Hungry Jack's burger restaurants released a Mickey Mouse collector's glass four weeks in a row, with a different Mickey Mouse on each one, I collected them and still have them. They were released to celebrate Mickey's 65th birthday and I wish I'd had the foresight to collect four sets, one for each of my kids.

Hi River...well, a new job and a new life in the city was kind of more important at the time. I couldn't turn down the job to work in my leisure hours on a local amateur concert. I'm sure they survived very will without me. Earning a living was more important! :)

If any of the Disney animated movies come on TV, River...or you have access to them on DVD, do watch them. I'm sure you will love them. They're are quite magical and wonderful.

I loved Disney movies as a kid, we never know what turns in life happen and what might have been; Disney would be turning over in his grave since here in the USA recently the Disney company hired foreign visa workers putting their computer technicians out of jobs after working there for 20 years and even worse forcing them to train the foreign workers or loose their severance pay and telling them they had to keep quiet about it. One of them broke their silence and recently spoke in congress, not sure what came of it all.

Hi Annie...fortunately Mum and Nana never put that restriction on my brother and me. We went to every Saturday afternoon matinee...and often Mum or Nana took us to the movies due the week, too, if there was a picture on that they thought we should see.

Hi Lynn....it was fun. But I had no idea why I was asked to do it. Sure...I could dance, but I wasn't a trained dancer. When I was a little girl I had ballet lessons for a short while. And my mother, who could dance and had had years of lessons, every so often throughout my childhood taught me some tap and other methods, but I was a rank amateur! lol

My claim to dancing fame was I just loved to dance at the local dances, balls and record hops! I couldn't/can't sing to save my life! :)

I did have a good imagination, though...and I loved and still do love...music.

It was all a bit fun...and got the creative juices flowing, even if I had to turn the tap off and leave for Brisbane! :)

Hi there, RK...my two acrylic paintings were compilations; and I copied them from the Disney animated movies. Drew the characters/subject first with graphite pencils...and then did the painting using tube acrylics...on canvas.

Alice and the rabbit are there looking on at the frolics of the fox and the hound. I painted them for the young daughters of a couple of friends of mine.

Okay, here's the thing...you MUST make a movie! There you go, this is my challenge to you! When I see you onstage accepting your Oscar, I will be very happy to hear your Aussie accent!I also love Walt Disney. Did you see the movie where he war portrayed by Tom Hanks? "Saving Mr. Banks", I thought it was great! "Uncle Walt", I still think of him in that way and we always watched "The Wonderful World of Color" on Sunday nights....it was changed to "The Wonderful World of Disney" later, I think. xx

Yes, Kay, I did see "Saving Mr. Banks"...only a couple of weeks back, actually...it was on TV so I recorded it and watched it at a later date. I loved it. But I did find a glaring error in part of it.

Maryborough where the family were living before they headed out to Allora is a town a little north of Gympie where I spent my childhood, teenage years and another four years just before I moved here to Tamborine Mountain where I presently live. The Mary River that runs through Gympie, also runs through and ends up at Maryborough.

When the family arrived at the railway station there was a sign listing the towns the train would be travelling through en route...and one town is "Yandina" which is south of Gympie...and in the movie, on the sign, it was spelled incorrectly with a capital "V"...not a "Y"! I think I'm the only person who picked that up! lol

Walt Disney was wonderful character, of that there is no doubt. If you get a chance to watch the four-part documentary I refer to in my post...do so...I'm sure you will be as captivated as I was. I loved it!

Your enthusiasm is frequently infectious Lee. Was the song chosen for the campfire scene "Fire" by Arthur Brown?... Ha! Ha! Only kidding. My all time Disney favourites were "Swiss Family Robinson" and "Greyfriars Bobby". Special cinema experiences from the long ago sixties. Oh, and more recently the "Toy Story" films were quite brilliant. Have you seen them?

Hi Yorkie...I will recall the name...it'll probably come to me out of the blue when I'm not trying to remember it. It was a song from the 40s, thereabouts. One my mother often used to play on the piano. Music played a big part in my childhood (and in my late brother's childhood).

Mum and Nana encouraged our love of music and film. They succeeded because I still am a huge fan of both. :)

I've not seen the "Toy Story" films, but next time they come on TV, I will make a point of watching them.